By Niall McCoy

ON Sunday afternoon, Ciaron O’Hanlon will be in an Armagh matchday squad for the first time in three and a half years – and the player freely admits that he will be in a completely different mental state this time around.

Since the 2017 All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Tyrone, when O’Hanlon was whipped off after 30 minutes as the Red Hands ran rampant, the player has travelled to the other side of the world and has found a fresh perspective on Gaelic games.

“I was in Sydney for two years and it was brilliant, even just for my own headspace,” said the Killeavy ace.

“Just to get away from football, to clear the head that way, was great and it has reignited my hunger again. Things going on in the personal life, getting away for a while just helped it.

“I’m in a completely different headspace compared to two or three years ago. I fell out of love with the game a wee bit, just because of the way things were going – blanket defences and the way I was playing.

“I’m getting back into it now and I’m looking forward to the challenge and I’m looking forward to the training. I’m trying to be the best player that I can be and someone who can offer something to Armagh.

“Those couple of years away definitely helped me in terms of the mental side of it. The commitment of intercounty football is massive. It’s basically seven days a week if you include everything like the recovery end of it. So you have to be mentally prepared to play county football.”

That O’Hanlon wanted to get his head showered was understandable. There was no soft landing to his Armagh career, instead the player was playing at a high level very early on.

In the space of a few months in 2013 he came under his fair share of media scrutiny.

Initially there was the fact that he had captained St Paul’s, Bessbrook to their first-ever MacRory Cup final. O’Hanlon was also head boy in the south Armagh school that year. Although the media coverage was welcomed as it shone a light on a very progressive school, it still was added pressure on a young boy who had a big game of football to play.

Two months later, while still a student at St Paul’s, O’Hanlon was handed his Armagh Championship debut for the side’s Ulster opener away to Cavan. More headlines, more scrutiny, more pressure.

That dream debut soon turned to a nightmare as the player was hauled off after 26 minutes. A Martin Dunne masterclass meant that his personal disappointment extended to the team as the Orchard county lost 1-15 to 1-11.

Asked for his advice if a player was put in a similar position, O’Hanlon provided a reasoned answer.

“Looking back at it now, I obviously wish that things had worked out differently. It did have a big impact on me, although I don’t want to make excuses.

“It can take its toll. You’re coming off a MacRory campaign playing well, feeling confident, and you think you’re ready for Armagh.

“All of a sudden the fire comes at you and things come crashing down. You don’t kick another ball for the rest of the year and it does getto you.

“For any young lad coming through like that I would tell them to just take a step back.

“I was playing senior football for Killeavy at the time but the bridge between senior club football and senior county football was massive. Physically I was way, way out of my depth.

“It’s one of those things. Paul (Grimley) gave me an opportunity and it didn’t work out. These things happen.

“The only advice I can give for anyone in a similar position is to take it nice and slow.

“If a manager comes to you and says you’re going to make your championship debut, of course you’re not going to turn that down.  But I’d like to think that coaches will ease you in but then there are examples of it working, look at Paddy McBrearty as an example. Things have worked out well for players like that.

“In my scenario it was more how it panned out after, rather than the game itself.”

The plan didn’t fall into place over the new few years in the orange jersey. Starts here and there but no period where he was guaranteed a place in the first 15. The doubts were building up.

In a purely footballing sense, O’Hanlon must have wondered where he stood with Kieran McGeeney at the end of the 2017 season.

Their Division Three and Ulster campaign had earned him zero starts and six cameos from the bench. This was followed by three starting berths in their Qualifier run, a few minutes off the bench against Kildare, and then starting again in that forgettable day in the rain against Tyrone at Croke Park.

For his fellow Killeavy club members, there was a belief that McGeeney simply wasn’t making the most of his talents. O’Hanlon, unsurprisingly given that ‘Geezer’ remains at the helm, is more diplomatic on his inability to become a regular starter.

“Performance wise, for a good part of the time anyway, I probably deserved to be taken off or whatever,” he said.

“I know myself that I haven’t played to the best of my ability in an Armagh jersey.

“Was that because I wasn’t getting the chances? At the end of the day it’s down to me to show ‘Geezer’ that I am able to be a regular on this team, to show that I can offer something for 70 minutes.

“That all comes down to personal responsibility. I have to get the consistency in my game. It’s down to me.”

That driven attitude will please not only Armagh fans, but also Killeavy supporters.

It is absolutely no coincidence that the side reached their first Senior Championship semi-final in 14 years in 2020 after O’Hanlon’s earlier-than-anticipated arrival home from Australia. They should have beaten Crossmaglen too in a match that will cause them a few nightmares for a while yet – but the player is hoping that they can atone in the very near future.

“It’s quite a young team,” he said. “The boys have worked really hard to Division 1A. When I left we had just won the Intermediate Championship so there has been a lot of good work put in over the last three years.

“I saw that when I came back in, the boys were stronger and fitter. We’re in a good place physically.

“We didn’t start well against Cross but it ended up being our game to lose. We had opportunities to beat them. There was a lot of learning to take out of that game.

“It was great get backing playing with the boys I had come up through. People talk about the ‘Sydney stone’ when you come back from Australia but I probably wasn’t in the best of shape.

“I’m passed that now. I wouldn’t say I’m where I need to be for county level but I’m working hard. I’m getting there.”

Reports suggest that the player has shown extremely well at Armagh training in the build-up to their league opener with Monaghan at Brewster Park this weekend.

The best very well may yet be to come from O’Hanlon – and he is ready for it.